bryco-jennings-jimenezarms.com

Mark_from_Iowa · 5+ Rounds Club Member Joined: 05 Oct 2006 Posts: 19

I recently purchased a Phoneix Arms HP22. Here it is.

So far it has worked fine. I have put about 300 rounds through it, mostly CCI Blazer, CCI MiniMags, and Federal AutoMatch bulk ammo. No problems with the operation, but loading the mag can be hard on the hands.

The HP22 compliments my Jimenez JA-22 nicely, don't you think?

michaelfm · Posted: Sat Nov 25, 2006 9:30 pm Post subject: Phoenix

Mark-glad to see you're finally active. The Phoenix is a nice looking little gun. Glad to hear it's functioning well for you. Some Phoenix owners have reported a mixture of problems, but seemed to be mag related or ammo related. I have heard that CCI brands work well in these guns. Nice thing with the Phoenix is it carries ten rounds in the mag. Do you know if they recommend Stingers? The Quik SHok .22 is an awesome round if you have the gun that can handle it. My main .22 shooter is a Taurus PT22 and they do not recommend any "hot" loads or it will void the warranty. As you experiment with different brands of .22 in your Phoenix and JA 22, report back and let us know about function, feeding and accuracy. I shoot a lot of small frame autos and I'm always interested to hear range reports and results from others.
_________________
NOBama - 2008

"If guns cause crime, then all mine are defective." - Ted Nugent

Mark_from_Iowa · 5+ Rounds Club Member Joined: 05 Oct 2006 Posts: 19

I have had the Phoenix for a little over 2 weeks now. I bought it used with the 3-inch barrel and standard magazine. The previous owner must not have used it much, because there were no wear marks anywhere when I disassembled it the first day. Lucky me Very Happy

I have had a break from school for Thanksgiving, so I have been shooting quite a bit lately. Here is my "official" report so far.

Ammo / Reliability
CCI Blazer: 200 rounds with no problems at all.
CCI MiniMags: 50 rounds, no problems.
Federal AutoMatch bulk: 100 rounds, no problems.
CCI Stinger: 20-30 rounds, no problems.
Rem Golden Bullet bulk: 150 rounds and 1 FTEject.

TOTAL: over 500 rounds and only one malfuntion. The FTE came at the end of 400 rounds without cleaning, plus the extractor slot was full of carbon at that point. A quick scrape with a small screwdriver and it worked fine again. Like any SNS, the HP22 likes to be cleaned.

Accuracy
After getting the sights figured out at 7 yards, I was repeatedly shooting 3-4 inch groups of 10 rounds each, which I consider OK from a 3 inch barrel Wink

Moving back to 15 yards spread the groups to 6 inches. Not bad, but it can be improved. All accuracy testing was with Remington Golden Bullet bulk ammo, which some rimfire guys hate.

Mr Saturday Night Special · Posted: Mon Nov 27, 2006 9:02 am Post subject:

Thanks for the range report. Good selection of ammo in the field test. Looks like you did good.
Mr SNS
_________________
If they don't trust us with guns, how can we trust them with the government?

Mark_from_Iowa · 5+ Rounds Club Member Joined: 05 Oct 2006 Posts: 19

Another update:

The HP22's safety system is more complex than some other pistols I am familiar with. As delivered from the factory, the gun cannot be taken off safety without inserting a magazine into the gun. This can be a nusiance when shooting, reloading, disassembling, and cleaning.

A number of threads about the HP22 on other forums mention a modification to the magazine safety that eliminates this problem. It involves some very basic metal removal from the safety and the safety block.

Remove the left grip. The safety has a tab that goes under the mag release button when in "fire" position. This tab can be clipped off of filed off. To remove the safety assembly, disassemble the gun the same way as you would for normal cleaning and take the left grip off. With the slide off, the safety will pop out of the frame and the tab can be removed. This should look like the piece labeled #1 in the photo below.

After removing the tab from the safety, the safety block needs to be shortened. The safety block is just a steel piece that pushes outward when a magazine is inserted. Once it pushes out, it no longer blocks the safety arm from moving into "fire" position. If there is no magazine in the gun, the safety block moves inward to "block" the safety from moving. This piece can be shortened as in the picture below (label #2).

This simple modification only affects the magazine safety system and does not change the mechanism of the other two safeties (trigger block and firing pin block). This modification eliminates the complicated safety wrangling to eject and load magazines.

FYI: The safety block is what imparts friction on the magazine when it is in the gun. If you want the mag to drop out freely when the button is pushed, pull the top end (clipped end) outward to "spring" the metal. If you want more drag, bend it inward. Be careful, the HP22's magazines have fragile bases and will not handle drops onto concrete very well.

PS: Perform all mods at your own risk. Follow all gun safety rules and the laws of your locale. This post is informational in nature only. Etc. etc.

farmkid · Posted: Fri Nov 16, 2007 11:10 pm Post subject:

Mr Saturday Night Special · Posted: Sat Nov 17, 2007 2:56 am Post subject:

Farm
You just reaffirmed by belief that " subsonic stuff " should be avoided.
I love my C9.
Mr SNS
_________________
If they don't trust us with guns, how can we trust them with the government?

diehard · Posted: Sat Nov 17, 2007 3:04 am Post subject:

Mr SNS,
I haven't used them much in blow back operated pistols, but subsonics are the bees knees for rifles, especially in the accuracy department. I know a few bullseye competition shooters who use them in their semi-auto .22 pistols. They tell me that you ought to be well below, or well above the sound barrer for accuracy. Being well above brings alot of other problems into the equation I guess. Since I'll never shoot as good as these old geezers still do, I believe they are telling me the truth.
_________________
God is great

Guns are good,

Let us thank them for our food and freedoms.

Amen

Mr Saturday Night Special · Posted: Sat Nov 17, 2007 3:15 am Post subject:

farmkid · Posted: Sat Nov 17, 2007 3:38 am Post subject:

[quote="diehard"]Mr SNS,
I haven't used them much in blow back operated pistols, but subsonics are the bees knees for rifles, especially in the accuracy department.[/quote]

My complaint here is only that they don't cycle well in autos; my dad has a few appropriate rifles, and I'm going to offer this stuff to him. I grew up with two rifles of his, a single-shot bolt action, and a pump, and he may be able to use this. In short, I don't think Remington puts out crap, but -- used in the wrong firearm -- any ammo can qualify as crap.

Now, to stretch the discussion a bit, one of my desired acquisitions is a Marlin 60 -- would these work well there, or would they jam the works?

greatguns · Hardcore Joined: 22 Oct 2007 Posts: 114 Location: KCMO

I know this is a little dated of a topic but wanted to answer farmkids marlin 60 ammo related question. I have a Marlin 60 and mine says high velocity only. I've never shot sub's in it but I did shoot standards once. There is not enough gas charge to properly cycle the bolt and you can guess what it causes. Short cycles, FTE,FTL, etc.
I have used a hodge podge of HV 36-40gr .22 rounds the worst of which were the federal bulk pack from Wally-worlds. Nevertheless they all shot fine with 1-2 FTE out of 100 rounds. All very accurate with this rifle. I'll give the credit to the rifle because my kids shoot it as well as I do. I would say too that I found you have to clean more often when lead round nose ammo is used as opposed to copper HP.
Back to the HP-22, I was looking at getting one, the set with both barrels. Has anyone tried the newer 60gr SV ammo out that Aguila has in their HP-22 to see how it works? Was thinking it would make a decent CCW loaded with those rounds.
_________________
Someday I'll think of something really profound to put here.

diehard · Posted: Sun Feb 03, 2008 4:13 pm Post subject:

I have used the Aguila SSS rounds in my former HP-22 and my J-22's (and my .22 Revolvers) with poor results. For one, they are a .22 short case with an elongated lead projectile and don't feed well from a magazine. Secondly, they are not that accurate from a short barrel. From my Marlin 60 they will cycle until the chamber gets too dirty (doesn't take long, this is very dirty stuff). They shoot pretty accurately too. I get best results from my single shot remington 514, with good, but not great accuracy, not even as good as with Federal bulk pack ammo.

I'm sure some folks get great results with this stuff. I haven't been convinced this ammo is for me though. Still, I too would like to know how it penetrates. Might make good fare for a small pocket revolver.
_________________
God is great

Guns are good,

Let us thank them for our food and freedoms.

Amen

greatguns · Hardcore Joined: 22 Oct 2007 Posts: 114 Location: KCMO

I know Taurus makes a nice 9 shot .22 revolver these would probably be great in. The extra 20gr would make it a decent personal defense weapon(about the same as a .223 for weight, 55gr)
_________________
Someday I'll think of something really profound to put here.

jackstinson · Posted: Mon Feb 04, 2008 12:49 am Post subject:

darr13 · Posted: Mon Feb 04, 2008 4:44 am Post subject:

I'm not going to say the Manufacturer is C.H.A. ,BUT I have put many a brick of Hi-velocity not Hyper-velocity rounds thru a HP-22 with no problems outside of normal wear.
I did wear that gun out,but no cracked frame. Now I will have to read that Repeated cracked frame post!
Shocked

Darr13

P.S. The firing pin safety will eventually start too fall on with wear and can be be PINNED with a roll pin in the off position,looks ok with a black roll pin.
_________________
The Flower of Freedom Must be Frequently Watered With The Blood of Patriots!